Lithium Advantages in Your Bass Boat

The anticipation of a morning bite can make it difficult to sleep at night. As you wait for the sun to peak over the horizon you run over everything in your checklist. All your rods are rigged, and you have every bait from a topwater frog to a Texas rigged senko tied on. Every bit of your terminal tackle is stowed perfectly, and you even remembered to pack a lunch. Except that one major piece of the puzzle that you forgot suddenly hits you and you realize that you never charged your trolling motor batteries. Luckily, you made the decision to replace those old lead acid batteries you had for lithium powered batteries and you can be charged up enough by sunrise to salvage the trip. A major sigh of relief for those that live and die by the water and the time they get to spend making cast after cast.

Every component of a boat must work together in order for you to create those unforgettable bites that every angler chases. A fault in your boat's system can quickly turn a picture-perfect day into a nightmare. Often, we think about all the accessories we want to add to our bass boats to make them more functional and to improve our odds of catching those elusive giants, yet we pay less mind to the power plant of our technologies. At RELiON we want to make it very simple and clear as to why lithium batteries are the best choice for your bass boat.

A bass boat needs reliable marine batteries as they are necessary for both starting and running your fishing machine. Not all batteries serve the same purpose as some are intended specifically for producing cranking power for engine startups and others are used exclusively for running your trolling motor. Essentially, starting batteries discharge a large amount of energy for a short period of time making them perfect for starting your outboard engines. Deep cycle batteries on the other hand, discharge small amounts of energy over an extended period of time. Regardless, lithium batteries offer solutions to every angler’s needs.

Time to charge is a major factor of each and every battery. Lithium, however, charges significantly faster than lead acid. Plain and simple. Our lithium batteries can be charged in as fast as an hour, but we recommend using a charge rate that charges them in 2-5 hours. This means that the moment of panic of whether you plugged your batteries in is long gone and you can be confident that you’ll be ready come morning. Some may wonder if leaving the battery in a state of partial charge will damage its performance or overall longevity and quite frankly the answer is, no. Lithium batteries are partial charge tolerant making them perfect for the on the go or maybe even the forgetful angler.

At first glance the cost of switching to lithium batteries may seem impractical in comparison to lead acid but when you break down the details, they paint a very different picture. Lithium batteries last up to 10 times longer than their lead acid counterparts and they still provide 80% capacity after 2000 cycles. This means that you don’t have to bring in a forklift every couple of years to haul out those absurdly heavy chunks of lead you have at the stern of your boat (you don’t actually need a forklift but you get the point). It is this same weight that has reduced your fuel economy and your time to plane. Every pound you add to the boat makes you draft that much deeper and can ultimately affect the ride and performance. Lithium batteries have 50-60% less weight than lead acid batteries and in some cases the weight savings from switching to lithium batteries can exceed 100 pounds. This amount of weight taken off your stern will improve both your range and wide-open throttle numbers for those days when you want to hammer down.

For the days when the bite rages from dawn to dusk or even the days when you grind it out for that one single bite, lithium power will be with you all the way. Quite simply, lithium has more hours of power. Lithium iron phosphate provides more usable capacity than lead acid. With 25-50% higher capacity than lead acid batteries with full power throughout discharge lithium batteries eliminate the voltage sag that is all too common with lead acid. All your accessories will be uninterrupted, and you can continue to max out that five fish limit you were working on. As the sun begins to drop after a full day on the water you won’t have to worry about anything except coming up with an excuse as to why you couldn’t make it home for your family dinner on time.

Which RELiON batteries are the right fit for you?

Our Deep Cycle Marine Batteries:

RB52: The RB52 is a 12V 52Ah battery offering abundant power in a small footprint. It can be used in many marine applications including smaller boats with lower battery requirements, boats that require two of the same batteries and boats with electrical systems designed for just one battery.

RB75: This 12V 75 Ah lithium iron phosphate battery is often used when you need more amp-hours than an RB50, but also do not need as much as the RB100 battery.

RB80: This 12V 80 Ah lithium iron phosphate battery weighs just 25 lbs, this battery is less than half the weight of a lead-acid equivalent. Eighty Amp-hours of capacity means a full day of power for mid-sized trolling motors.

RB100: This is one of our most popular units and is a perfect choice for the avid angler. This 12V 100Ah deep cycle lithium battery is the perfect replacement from a group 31 AGM, GEL or lead-acid Battery. Weighing in at only 30 lbs it’s a lightweight and has the capacity for nearly every marine application.

Our Deep Cycle Starting Batteries:

RB50-HP: The RB50-HP is a 12V 50Ah lithium marine battery in RELiON’s High Performance series. It's specially designed to handle both starting and cycling. It delivers powerful cranking amperage for easy starting, and low amp draw service for reliable auxiliary power all in a compact and versatile package.

RB100-HP: Our RB100-HP is a dual-purpose 12V, 100 Ah lithium battery. The RB100-HP has increased peak amps over our standard batteries. This increase in peak amps can be used to start even the most demanding of outboard motors. After starting, the battery can double as a house battery.

A typical bass boat setup could include:

3 RB100s for your trolling motor

1 RB100-HP for engine starts as well as running onboard accessories

Look, we get it, you are a little worried about making the switch and want to make sure it is the right move for both your boat and your wallet. We totally understand but we also want you to know that long-term benefits of replacing those outdated and heavy lead-acid batteries will change your boating experience. More importantly, you will have the team at RELiON backing you 100% of the way with any questions or concerns you may have!